This document summarizes a research study on the role of intrapreneurial experience on independent and corporate new ventures. The study finds that individuals with intrapreneurial experience are more likely to start up both independent ventures and intra-ventures than those without such experience. The study uses a sample from Spain's Adult Population Survey and controls for various individual characteristics. While providing preliminary support for the hypotheses, the study also notes limitations around using a single country context and cross-sectional data. It proposes future research could explore other country contexts, use longitudinal data, and examine how intrapreneurial experience impacts venture growth patterns and the role of parent firms.

1. The role of intrapreneurial
experience on independent and
corporate new ventures:
evidence from Spain
Maribel Guerrero, Iñaki Peña
Orkestra-Basque Institute of Competitiveness.
Deusto Business School.

2. Agenda
Research Motivations
Theoretical approaches
Methodology
Conclusions
Future research
Preliminary results

3. Research Motivations
Theoretical approaches
Methodology
Conclusions
Future research
Preliminary results
Agenda
What we know …
(1) Entrepreneurship is important for economic growth.
• Vary greatly across different types of entrepreneurship,
environmental contexts and conditions (Wennekers and Thurik
1999; Westhead 1995).
(2) Human capital is a key determinant of any entrepreneurial
action (McMullen and Shepherd 2006; Hornsby et al. 1993; Shane et
al. 2003).
(3) There are some differences in human capital between
entrepreneurs & intrapreneurs. Parker (2011):
• entrepreneurs are characterized by a general human capital
(knowledge, skills and experiences) useful for start-up creation,
• intrapreneurs acquire a specific human capital from training
programs, experiences and learning process within existing
organizations that have an entrepreneurial focus (i.e., proactive,
innovative and risk-taking oriented firms).

4. Research Motivations
Theoretical approaches
Methodology
Conclusions
Future research
Preliminary results
Agenda
What we know …
Corporate entrepreneurship build a strong human architecture
(i.e., management support, work discretion, reward system, time
availability and organizational boundaries)
This fertile environments inside organizations help:
• to achieve organizational objectives (i.e., innovation, renewal or
venturing) and
• indirectly generates a specific human capital in their employees
(i.e., intrapreneurial experience).
Hornsby et al. (1993, 2002,)

5. Research Motivations
Theoretical approaches
Methodology
Conclusions
Future research
Preliminary results
Agenda
What we do not know …
About the link between this specific human capital dimension
(intrapreneurial experience) onto firm start-up (independent
venturing & intra-venturing).
Our Objective
We attempt to fill this gap in the literature by testing the effect
of individuals’ intrapreneurial experience on the number of
firms created by independent entrepreneurs and
intrapreneurs.

6. Research Motivations
Theoretical approaches
Methodology
Conclusions
Future research
Preliminary results
Agenda
From a theoretical point of view…
For one side, entrepreneurial action depends, to a large extent, on
how individuals combine:
(a) their motivations that vary in how they perceive the risk of
expending resources before knowing the distribution of outcomes
(Shane et al. 2003; Arenius and Minnitti 2005);
(b) their human capital (i.e. individual education, experiences and
skills), which constitutes a firm-unique intangible asset (Bates 1990;
Davidsson and Honig 2003); and
(c) the access to other resources such as financial and social capital,
which may prompt (or hamper) the decision to start a new venture
(Bosma et al. 2004).
For other side, the creation of intra-ventures refers to visible
entrepreneurial tendencies of a parent firm toward innovativeness, pro-
activeness and risk taking (Covin and Slevin 1989; Lumpkin and Dess 1996;
Miller 1983).

7. Previous studies Frameworks
Entrepreneurial
action
(Locke 2000;
McMullen and
Shepherd 2006;
Shane et al. 2003;
Shane and
Venkataraman 2000)
Antecedents
 Environmental
 Individual
Perceptions
 Motivations
(desirability)
 Knowledge
(feasibility)
Entrepreneurial
action
 Firm creation
High-Growth
(Autio 2007; Autio et
al. 2007; Autio and
Acs 2007, 2010)
Antecedents
 Environmental
 Individual
Resources
 Human capital
 Social capital
 Financial
capital
Orientation
 High aspirations
 Innovation
 Internationalization
Entrepreneurial
action
 Firm creation
Firm
Performance
 High-growth
Entrepreneurial
Orientation
(Covin and Slevin
1991; Lumpkin and
Dess 1996, 2001;
Miller 1983; Moreno
and Casillas 2008)
Moderators
 Environmental
 Organizational
 Individual
Entrepreneurial
orientation
 Risk taking
 Innovativeness
 Proactiveness
 Autonomy
 Competitive
aggressiveness
Performance
 Sales growth
 Market share
 Profitability
 Overall
performance
Corporate
Entrepreneurship
(Antoncic and Hisrich
2001; Ireland et al.
2009; Hornsby et al.
1993, 2002, 2009,
forthcoming; Kuratko
et al. 2005a, 2005b;
Zahra 1991, 1993;
Zahra and Covin
1995; Zahra and
Garvis 2000)
Antecedents
 Environmental
 Organizational
 Individual
Human System
Architecture
 Human capital
 Social capital
Entrepreneurial
orientation
 Risk taking
 Innovativeness
 Proactiveness
Corporate
Entrepreneurship
 Innovations
 Venturing
 Renewal
Performance
 Growth
 Profitability
Intrapreneurial
experiences &
entrepreneurial
action (proposed)
Antecedents
(individual,
organizational,
environmental)
Specific human
resources
(intrapreneurial
experience)
Individual
orientation
(risk taking, innovativeness
proactiveness)
Firm
creation
High-Growth
(innovation,
internationalization
and growth
aspiration)

8. Research Motivations
Theoretical approaches
Methodology
Conclusions
Future research
Preliminary results
Agenda
From a theoretical point of view…
Hypothesis 1: Individuals with intrapreneurial experience are more
likely to start up a firm than individuals who lack such experience.
Hypothesis 2: Individuals with intrapreneurial experience are
more likely to start up intra-ventures than individuals who lack
such experience.
(Boeker 1997; Zahra 1991, 1993; Zahra and Covin 1995;
Zahra and Garvis 2000; Sebora and Theerapatvong 2010;
Parker 2011).
(Covin & Miles 2002; Parker 2011).

9. Research Motivations
Theoretical approaches
Methodology
Conclusions
Future research
Preliminary results
Agenda
Sample
Adult Population Survey (GEM in Spain)
9277 observations adult individuals (18- to 64-year-old).
Methodology
We use a negative binomial regression model
The negative binomial regression model provides a solution to
the problem of over-dispersion and bias problems that we found
in our sample (Cameron and Trivedi 1998; Greene 2003; Hilbe
2007).
Studies have used negative binomial regression methods to test
samples with similar characteristics to ours (Audrestch and
Lehmann 2005), Gregorio and Shane 2003) and Rothaermel
2001).

10. Research Motivations
Theoretical approaches
Methodology
Conclusions
Future research
Preliminary results
Agenda
Dependent Variables: firm creation
Model A Model B
independent_venturing corporate_venturing
1 = individual that has recently
created a new business (younger
than 42 months old)
0 = otherwise
1 = (a) individual that has recently created a
new venture for employer as part of
his/her normal work
(b) is a full-time employee
0 = otherwise
Intra_experience 1= individual that has been involved in the development of
new activities (i.e., new goods/services, new business, etc.)
for her/his main employer during the last three years (Bosma
et al. 2010)
0=otherwise
Independent Variables

11. Research Motivations
Theoretical approaches
Methodology
Conclusions
Future research
Preliminary results
Agenda
Other Variables
Educ_higher 1=Higher education
0=otherwise
Entre_experience 1=has shut down a business in the past 12 months
0=otherwise
Investor_experience 1=has invested his or her own funds into private-held
entrepreneurial ventures started by others during the past three
years
0=otherwise
Know_entrepreneur 1=indicating whether the individual knew other entrepreneurs
who started a business in the past two years
0=otherwise
PIncome_higher 1=indicating whether the individual’s annual income is higher
than 30,000 Euros per year.
0=otherwise
opportunity_
recognition
1=if the individual perceives good opportunities
0=otherwise
Skills 1= indicating whether the individual possesses the knowledge,
skills and experience required to starting a business;
0 = otherwise
FearFailure 1= indicating whether the individual considers that fear of failure
would prevent him or her from setting up a business.
Region_highincome 1= represents the Spanish regions with high level of GDP per
capita respect to the media of all regions
Gender, Age

12. Research Motivations
Theoretical approaches
Methodology
Conclusions
Future research
Preliminary results
Agenda
Model I
Independent_venturing
Model II
Corporate_venturing
Parameters B S.E. Sig. B S.E. Sig.
(Intercept) -5.369 .5629 *** -7.369 1.396 ***
Intra_experience 2.251 .1442 *** 3.025 .3041 ***
Educ_higher .079 .0921 -.261 .2284
Entre_experience .806 .2050 *** .263 .7155
IInvestor_experience .048 .1821 .964 .3394 ***
Know_entrepreneurs .729 .0893 *** .845 .2448 ***
PIncome_higher .197 .0912 * .906 .2883 ***
StartupOpportunity_recognition .427 .0988 *** .233 .2603
Skills 1.535 .1380 *** 1.419 .3554 ***
FearFailure -.411 .0898 *** -.787 .2502 ***
Gender .078 .0883 .372 .2355
Age .089 .0292 *** .048 .0632
Age2 -.001 .0004 *** -.001 .0008
Region_highincome -.066 .0868 .132 .2265
(Scale) 1.000 1.000
(Negative binomial) 1.000 1.000
Omnibus test = -2(LBo-LB 501.502 196.400
P-Value *** ***
Pseudo R2= 1 - (LB / LBo) .126 .199
N 9190 9277
Preliminary Results

13. Research Motivations
Theoretical approaches
Methodology
Conclusions
Future research
Preliminary results
Agenda
• Intrapreneurial experience contributes to the spreading of the
knowledge base, networking capacity of individuals and leadership
skills, which ultimately reinforce individuals’ self-confidence and
conviction needed to start up a firm.
• Our preliminary result could complements other findings
highlighting the relevance of work experience on firm creation and
intra-venturing (Bates 1990; Bosma et al. 2004; Davidsson and Honig
2003).
• The experience gained by being employed by organization with
intrapreneurial practices may be useful for an individual willing to
start up a independent venturing

14. Research Motivations
Theoretical approaches
Methodology
Conclusions
Future research
Preliminary results
Agenda Our limitations…… new research opportunities
• Spanish context… will allow explore it in other countries
• We used cross-section data. Longitudinal data will allow us to
capture the dynamic dimension of this phenomenon.
•A natural extension of our work could be to test the effect of
individuals’ intrapreneurial experience on the actual growth
pattern (high-growth orientation) of new firms.
• Another research avenue would be to examine the role played
by the parent firm. (….How corporate entrepreneurship is
managed to optimize the performance of a portfolio of spin-offs?
…..)

15. Many thanks for
your attention!
Maribel Guerrero, Iñaki Peña
Orkestra-Basque Institute of Competitiveness. Deusto Business School.